Rockets' Hollywood finale not as dramatic as it could have been

LOS ANGELES - According to Dwight Howard, nothing was at stake in Wednesday night's game between the Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center other than the future of civilization.

Asked after the Lakers' shootaround Wednesday morning to manufacture a motivational speech for his teammates, after saying they shouldn't need one with a playoff berth on the line in the NBA's final regular-season game, Howard borrowed liberally from the movie "300.''

He said the Lakers needed to win for injured teammate Kobe Bryant, "watching at home,'' late owner Jerry Buss, "watching from on high,'' and, ultimately, for Sparta.

It was all in good fun, intended to lighten the mood.

But a sense of urgency remained for the Lakers and their fans, who have been living this season in a Bizarro World, confronted with the unthinkable possibility of sitting out the playoffs while the Clippers play on.

That urgency lasted until about 15 minutes before tipoff, when another of the Western Conference's desperate teams, Utah, lost to Memphis 86-70, eliminating the Jazz from the playoff race, the coveted berth going to the Lakers.

So much for a dramatic conclusion to the night's episode. Instead of a seventh-game atmosphere at Staples Center, it became more about the seventh seed, which L.A. obtained with a 99-95 overtime victory.

It would have been so much fun to see if the Rockets again could become a spoiler for Los Angeles. They have a history of doing that, though not one that reaches quite as far back as Sparta.

When the Lakers failed to defend the NBA championship they won during Magic Johnson's rookie season, it was because the Rockets, who didn't even have a winning regular-season record, upset them in the first round in 1981.

Remember Ralph?

The Rockets advanced to the Finals in 1986 with the Twin Towers when one of them, Ralph Sampson, made a no-look, off-balance shot to finish off a 4-1 series over the Lakers.

The defending champion Rockets beat the Lakers in the first round in 1996, a disappointing end to not only the season for Los Angeles but also for Magic's career.

Even without Yao Ming for most of the series, the Rockets took the Lakers to seven games in the Western Conference semifinals in 2009 before losing.

James Harden knows the history better than any of the other Rockets, having grown up near the Lakers' former home, the Forum.

He said Wednesday morning it would be satisfying to eliminate his former favorite team.

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"This is big, big for L.A.,'' he said. "If we can possibly win this game and the Lakers don't make the playoffs … I don't know when the last time that's happened.''

But Harden added that the game was more important for what it meant to the Rockets.

"We just want to get a good win, get our swagger back going into the playoffs,'' he said.

That was the attitude Rockets coach Kevin McHale wanted his players to have. He told them to tune out the noise in Los Angeles.

McHale has his own history with the Lakers, being among the most villainous Celtics in the storied history between the two teams.

He is still booed here for clotheslining the Lakers' Kurt Rambis in a playoff game at the Forum almost three decades ago.

Asked if he would get any satisfaction from knocking out the Lakers, McHale said: "I only care about the Rockets now.''

So what was the motivation Wednesday night for the Rockets, who clinched a playoff berth more than a week before, except for avoiding having to play in the first round against the West's No. 1 seeded team, Oklahoma City?

Not that opening in San Antonio is much more appealing.

Modest goal

According to McHale after his team's shootaround, it was merely not to stink.

After the Lakers had prevailed against San Antonio on Sunday night in a must-win game - while playing without Bryant for the first time since his season-ending Achilles tendon surgery - the Rockets lost 24 hours later to the Western Conference's worst team, Phoenix.

There was at least one mitigating circumstance. Harden connected on 1 of 12 shots from the field after banging knees in the first half with the Suns' Luis Scola.

He was in the starting lineup Wednesday night.

"We (played) so bad in the last game,'' McHale said. "It would make me feel good to play a better game than the one we played the other night.''

How did he plan to inspire them to do that?

He said he would tell them to play better.

He acknowledged the message doesn't always get through.

"Believe it not, we tried hard against Phoenix,'' he said. "I shouldn't say that. We told them to try hard.''